Abaddon (Ryan J. Gaven)
“The average human body has about 5 liters of blood and losing 3 or 4 of them is bad. Exsanguinations of this kind lead to lack of oxygen and nutrients in the brain and other vital organs. Pretty much, the body starts to shut down slowly until the curtain drops and you’re very much dead. But um…not for me. And once that guy over there gets a little closer, he’s going to find out why.” – Ryan Gaven. __TOC__ 'History' Early Life Abaddon is the alter-ego of Ryan Jeremiah Gaven, a seemingly normal college student and entertainment retail employee. He is the illegitimate son of Michael Rivven (better known publicly as the hero Archangel) and alice Gaven, the daughter of notorious metahuman serial killer and criminal mastermind, Rissell Richards. The pair shared a brief relationship during the time that Alice turned her father's secrets in to the authorities pursuing him--Archangel included. Shortly after Russell's arrest, Alice went into hiding and gave birth to a son, consealing his existence from Michael. Ryan was brought up in a single-parent household, never knowing his father, in Miami, Florida. From his infancy Ryan was diagnosed with Erlington's Syndrome, a rare congenital heart malformation that makes his heart rather delicate under stress. His metagene was first activated when he was eight, after a dog attacked and bit him, causing his arm to bleed profusely. The blood reacted to his terror at the large dog and solidified into barbed wire that drove the dog off. This revelation unsettled his mother because his power was all too similar to his grandfather's and she bade him to never show his power to anyone, worried he would suffer repercussions for what Russell did. Ryan’s mother lost her life in a car accident when he was ten and Ryan was put in the hands of social services. This led him to finally meet his father for the first time. Michael was allowed a private talk with the boy and Ryan accidentally realized that his father was his long-time idol, the Archangel. As a younger child, Ryan had witnessed Archangel's battle to stop metahuman Elijah Dalloway and saw his hero's hand being pierced through by a metal shard, resulting in a distinctive scar. The boy had also memorized Archangel's real voice and could identify it no matter how much Michael disguised it—perhaps a sign of Ryan’s later skill at ‘reading’ people. Despite the revelation of his father’s identity and the adoration Ryan showed, Michael rejected responsibility over him, seemingly unsettled by his relation to Richards and troubled by his own problematic marriage. Ryan was sent into foster care, seemingly out of dislike but, as Michael later admitted, also an effort to keep the boy out of his world of crime-fighting and constant danger. Ultimately, Michael’s despotic and traditionalist mother, Mathilda, was behind this decision, threatening to oust Michael’s secret identity and expose his family to the underworld unless he removed ‘the bastard’ from their lives and the Rivven family. This fact would not come to light until shortly before Mathilda’s death of natural causes, nearly fifteen years later. Rejected by both father and idol, Ryan was left to fend for himself while being moved between families through social services. He endured physical and emotional abuse in these families, unsuited and unprepared to deal with a child such as him, and could never properly fit in. Among his worst experiences was realizing one of his foster siblings was a psychopath with violent homicidal tendencies that finally materialized in an attempt to murder the father of the family. Because he became so withdrawn and silent, having to protect his secrets, he was frequently bullied and ostracized due to his heart problem. He had very few friends, a bad temper, got into a lot of trouble, was nearly sent to reform school once and frequently turned to music to alleviate his frustrations. Part of his early adolescence, from the age of 15 and on, involved underground illegal fighting (what would later become known as the ‘8-Ring’) that engaged teenagers and being caught in a gang shootout by sheer bad luck. His early involvement with the underworld of Miami would become a valuable resource of information later in his career. Brothers The big change came one year before he could finally leave his oppressive, last foster family and live his own life, when he would turn 18. He was to attend college in Miami through a scholarship and besides a slew of part-time jobs, had a small trust-fund left by his mother to start his independent life. Gabriel Rivven, his half brother from Michael's marriage to Jennifer Wilson, sought him out against their father's wishes and expectations; Michael still seemed unwilling to stomach the existence of his eldest, illegitimate son. The two siblings, after a rocky start, were at ease with each other and pooled resources to live in a shared apartment while they both studied in college—Ryan in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Behavior (later he added Criminology and Forensics as well) and Gabe in Web Design & Interfaces and Advanced Programming. Ryan’s experience with a psychopathic foster sibling prompted his interest in psychology and in particular he immersed himself in the research of psychopathic tendencies in juveniles and children. Later still, he also studied the effects of the metagene and metahuman powers in human psychology. Things looked well for the pair, despite Gabriel's estrangement from their father, which Ryan disapproved of. They often talked about their future and what they should do with their powers, but Ryan was adamant he didn't want to become involved with what he called “the hero business” because of their father. He felt that, as he was, he would never be left at peace and would constantly be compared to his grandfather, which would inevitably become a hindrance. Eventually their routine came to an end when a wave of unprecedented crime struck Miami, culminating in a mob of unidentified, monstrous-looking creatures running rampant through the city. With panic spreading in the city and armed forces finding it difficult to control the bizarre creatures, Gabe finally convinced Ryan that they had to do something. Ryan caved and the two hurriedly put together makeshift 'costumes' out of some of their clothes and set out to help the police and SWAT with the creatures. Although they nearly got killed due to inexperience, they were successful in curbing the attacking creatures and identifying their origin: an illegal genetic research lab that was developing B.O.Ws, Bio Organic Weapons. This lab would later turn out to have been run by Dr. Dio, an adversary that would frequently cause them problems. They were caught by the media during their battle and given 'nicknames' by an over-excited reporter named Andrew Coltrane, as Abaddon and Uriel. Although neither of the siblings was particularly happy about the first impression they'd made and the nicknames they earned, they kept it to themselves out of embarrassment, and Ryan would later be quoted saying that Coltrane was ‘a religious nut’. In the wake of the incident, they received a visit from Archangel—the first time Ryan saw his father since he was abandoned to social services, nearly nine years previously. Gabe attempted to make a conversation between them possible, but Michael was only interested in insulting Ryan and blaming Gabe's near death on him and his 'influence'. Ryan took the matter seemingly calmly, used to constant belittling, but Gabe had enough and punched his father in the face before forcing him out of their apartment. Ryan was not happy with the matter and went after Michael; he apologized for Gabe's behavior because he couldn't bear to see Gabe suffer the same disconnection from his family that he himself had. Ryan and Michael came to a grudging truce and agreed to keep out of each other's hair and let Gabe make his own choices. The Start of Nightwatch Following the B.O.W incident, Ryan thought it would be better for him to never appear publicly again, as rumor began to spread in the media that the hero identified as Abaddon was related to Russell Richards, or even Richards himself, due to the similarity of their powers. But one evening, while returning home after work he stumbled onto the scene of an accident: A fire consuming a building and firefighters struggling to put it out and evacuate unfortunate residents. He tried to walk away and leave it to the firefighters, but his consciousness got the best of him and he used blood armor to form a helmet and jumped in to help, rescuing three trapped residents from the flames and two firefighters—including the squad's captain. The police, who were searching for him to question him in relation to Russell Richards, arrived on the scene as Abaddon collapsed from smoke inhalation. The firefighters concealed him under firefighter clothing while putting him on oxygen and told the police he had fled the scene. The captain of the firefighters thanked him for saving his men and the incident taught him that there was still a possibility of acceptance for him; maybe not from authorities like the police, but from the citizens themselves. Eventually he and Gabe began to train and modify their 'costumes'; they began patrolling Miami as regular crime fighters, adopting the names that the press first gave them, much to Michael's chagrin. The reason was, the people were already calling them with those names and neither had any better ideas. On one of their patrols, Abaddon ran into Ashley Caradyne—when she fell on him after being thrown off the edge of a sky-scraper in downtown Miami. Uriel and Abaddon helped her rescue her father, the retired metahuman burglar Smoke, from a terrorist ring and Abaddon began feeling an attraction to the feisty metahuman girl, even though she blatantly blew him off. Ironically, the following week she approached them while they were stopping a bank robbery gone wrong and introduced herself as Feral, practically inviting herself in their 'team'. Without much of an argument against it, they reluctantly let her join them and agreed to the name she suggested for their team: The Nightwatch. Before long, word of their existence got out and they were joined by Demosthene Savoy—Samedi's Envoy, who had taken on the mantle of being an avatar of the Voodoo god as long as he could use it to protect people from more than just misused Voodoo. Following a worsening of Ryan's heart condition they were approached by Dr. Evan Kelly, a doctor and metahuman owning a clinic in Miami, who happened to be a friend of the Rivven family. He offered to help them with Ryan's medical problem and allowed them to use the clinic as a base, offering them support and advice as a senior and doctor. Under his care, Abaddon got better and they 'recruited' another member, The Weatherman. Things Get Serious By the first year of their existence as a team, they had also recruited Troll, Razorspark, Belladonna and Glitch, after rescuing him from the FBI. Ryan's relationship with Michael was still rocky and they refused to acknowledge each other as father and son. From the start, Abaddon was considered the de facto leader of Nightwatch and even though he wasn't the oldest, he was looked up to by his teammates. He faced a crisis of identity and choices when Russell Richards, his grandfather, managed to escape the high security prison in which he was kept, in Alaska. Russell had maintained control over his old group, The Syndicate, now counting new 'students' in its ranks, including foes like Tauro, Cottonmouth and Drama Queen, as well as older enemies of Nightwatch, like Rosencrantz and his brother Guildenstern. With Russell back on the loose, killing and dominating his way up the criminal food-chain and playing mind games with the authorities and other heroes trying to stop him, Abaddon found himself under extreme pressure. Russell worsened things by luring Abaddon into a trap in order to 'introduce' himself to his grandson; it ended with Abaddon and his associates barely escaping with their lives but badly shaken by the encounter. His relation to Russell and the resemblance of their powers inevitably shook his confidence and made him consider quitting. Enter XSTNC Before he could come to any decision, he was targeted by an alien mental parasite, known only as XSTNC. The parasite kidnapped him using mind control then proceeded to start torturing him mentally and physically to wear him down in order to invade his mind and replace him, using his body as a host. After realizing his disappearance, the Nightwatch team began a frantic search for their missing leader. Meanwhile, Abaddon endured prolonged torture culminating in the alien beginning to invade his mind and starting to dismantle his consciousness. He was pitted against both the alien and his own personal demons in an intense mental battle for dominance and survival that he was rapidly losing. Finally Archangel intervened, helping Uriel locate Abaddon's holding place and they arrived the moment Abaddon and the alien's inner battle was peaking; the alien had invaded Ryan's subconscious to attempt to uproot him entirely from his body, when it encountered The Beast, the deepest and most primal aspect of Abaddon's subconscious. The Beast proceeded to crush the alien right as Uriel decapitated it's body. Mentally and physically broken once again, Abaddon was taken to Dr. Kelly's clinic where he underwent a delicate 'soul surgery' that Dr. Kelly did in order to remove every influence of the alien in Ryan's head and try to save him from permanent trauma. Abaddon was comatose for approximately three weeks, during which Uriel had to step in and become Nightwatch's leader. Upon his awakening Ryan became aware of the drastic changes the experience had brought to him, including his red eyes, altered powers (the traumatic experience had triggered some changes in their 'behavior’) and the crippled sense of pain. The whole incident, the pressure from Russell's activities and the fact that Archangel had saved him, caused Abaddon to realize he needed some kind of sabbatical, badly. He resigned from leader of Nightwatch, passing the duty over to Uriel, permanently, and began a period of soul searching and trying to improve his skills. At this point, Abaddon was found by Gold Mask, an ancient master who lead the Dante Society, a group of human and metahuman demon hunters, and offered to train him on the condition that he worked with the Dante Society when needed. To ensure his friend's well-being, Samedi's Envoy petitioned for and was granted a membership in the team as well, in order to watch Abaddon's back. Abaddon agreed and began a rigorous training regime under Gold Mask, who encouraged his aggressive combat style and helped him refine it. 'Personality' 'A Charismatic Bastard' The person that is Ryan J. Gaven is, admittedly, difficult even for his close friends and associates to completely decipher. His turbulent life has left him with many emotional scars and a pronounced difficulty in dealing with people, yet also fundamentally shaping him as an individual. Ryan goes to certain lengths to keep his Abaddon persona out of his life, as well as avoiding any common behavior with his grandfather or father—though ironically it is often remarked that he does act like his father, which frustrates him. He finds it impossible to expel certain aspects of his personality, like his bad temper, which show in either of his identities. He doesn’t define either identity as the ‘real’ Ryan; he says such a thing can’t be done since he “isn’t totally sane”. Ryan is well aware of the history of mental issues present in his mother’s side of the family, specifically the history of schizophrenia and/or psychosis cases. He often worries he may have inherited such a problem. People around him consider him 'pretty normal' in respect to how he lives and interacts with others. Ryan was a reserved and even shy child, but the rejection from his father and his subsequent life sharply turned him into a grumpy and sarcastic jerk, traits that often overshadow his more positive qualities. His friends often remark that once he gets out of his shell he is well worth knowing and trusting, even though Ryan himself doesn't always trust others entirely, which is one of his weaknesses. They bear with his bad attitude only because they know that he usually has good reasons for his occasionally outrageous behavior and because he never lets them down. In the company of allies, Ryan is considered witty, clever and dependable—if a bit of a grumpy and aloof oddball—appreciated for his odd but prominent sense of humor and a relaxed kind of personality that attracts people to him. He might have a short temper but it doesn't stop him from being mature and insightful. Interestingly, Ryan tries a bit too hard to hide the fact that he's intellectual, compassionate and emotional and actually likes helping others. He doesn't know why he behaves like that (he's confessed to this) and is very reserved in his displays of kindness and altruism. He never expects to be thanked for the things he does and isn't very fond of publicity, positive or negative; he doesn't seem to care about it. He's notoriously foul-mouthed, even at inappropriate times; a product of his upbringing and his attitude. Usually he doesn't mean half of the swearing and insults he spouts—but Dr. Kelly, among others, has noted that most of what he says can be brushed off because he holds back. Dr. Kelly has also noted that the only times Ryan has been really and honestly mean or cruel with words is when he is under a lot of pain or stress which distract him. Ryan deals with his heart condition rather well, even joking about it. He often calls it "Spontaneous Cardioimplosion" instead of its proper name. He has admitted that he's come to terms with it and the fact he could be dead before he even turns thirty and is determined to make the most of his life. In some sense, Ryan considers his heart problem an advantage rather than a hindrance: He claims it keeps him grounded and always aware of his mortality, making it easier for him to accept death as a fact of life, without descending into suicidal tendencies. He credits his ability to fight while disregarding his own well-being to this acceptance. Another of his obvious flaws is his strained relationship with his father and his sarcastic opinion about family. He does not meet eye to eye with his biological father, still being very bitter about being rejected and mistreated. He feels anger not because of his father's behavior but because he can't bring himself to honestly hate him. Ryan knew about his grandfather since childhood and it is openly accepted that Russell is one of the few people who actually scare him, although ironically Ryan is able to match up with his genius grandfather where mental games are involved. Where his past foster families are involved, Ryan’s attitude ranges from indifferent to deeply sarcastic. He claims to have no really pleasant memory of his life in foster care but refuses to get into details. He has alluded to abuse within at least one of those families but refuses to talk about the exact nature. As Abaddon, he is a very ruthless and unforgiving crime-hunter, who uses his powers and skills to terrorize criminals and fight them in their own terms, taking the fight to them more frequently than not. He shows little mercy, barely refraining from killing sometimes, although he has proven that it isn't beyond him should he be pushed there by circumstance. His short temper and low tolerance for heinous criminals (such as child abusers and body-traffic agents) has made him kill several criminals rather brutally, but as of recent he has began curbing these impulses, but has not completely expelled them. He still leaves many resisters badly broken and crippled or maimed in sometimes horrific ways. His wit, sharp tongue and penchant for caustic sarcasm and scathing remarks are something of a trademark of his and he displays very little respect towards other superheroes, even those he inwardly admires and respects, like Batman. Although he is distant from and somewhat jaded of organized religion, conversations with Dr. Kelly and others seem to imply that he was raised (and still is) a Catholic. Relationships Ryan has a long-standing problem with forming bonds and his relationships with other people can be awkward at best. His closest relationship is with his brother, Gabriel, the first real family and blood-relation he's actually had since the death of his mother. The two siblings don't seem to mind the fact they're only half brothers. They clash and argue a lot and often (as expected of brothers) but their bond remains a strong one. Ryan especially holds his relationship to Gabriel as the most important in his life, as Gabriel often acts as his anchor to his ideals when his temper leads him stray. In turn, he ensures that Gabriel doesn't always act on impulse and get himself in trouble. On occasion, Ryan protects his less-experienced brother from enemies quite viciously. He has good relationships with his other associates in Nightwatch. He may not fully be able to trust them but he deeply appreciates their presence in his life even if he can't find ways to show that. He has often argued with everyone and even come to blows with some, but their bond as partners and friends remain strong. One does not mess with his team and expect to avoid being mangled. Glitch in particular is especially fond of Ryan and refers to him as his 'bro'. Being naive, innocent and inexperienced, the little alien often requires Ryan's immediate protection in danger and Ryan admits he's fond of the little tyke. It was Glitch who was present when he woke up from his coma and Ryan was glad to see him, remarking that Glitch was holding it together well, just to have the child break down into tears on his lap. In the team, one of his more prevalent friendships is with Razorspark; both owe each other their lives and more than once Razorspark has saved him from a heart failure by shocking him. As two of the eldest members of the team, along with Troll, they deeply respect each other and often exchange quite adult conversation and jokes, and Troll even went to them for dating advice. He has a strange relationship with the police and authorities in general; Abaddon respects policemen and the work they do, but at the same time is exasperated with them and their attitude towards him. He prefers to ignore the police, if he can help it. His only contact (and possibly friend) in the Miami-Dade PD is Lieutenant Nathan Scott, a dedicated officer and one of the most prominent Homicide Detectives in the force, with connections and friends within many divisions. He is considered a highly respectable police officer despite his relatively young age and Abaddon trusts him enough because of his sincerity, dignity and dedication to his job. Abaddon's relationship with other heroes is rocky. He does not respect most established heroes and usually responds to them with his trademark sarcasm. While he does respect some, he doesn't show it easily, nor does it stop him from telling them exactly what he thinks. His attitude makes it difficult for him to work within a team that he doesn't know or trust and he rarely obeys others, usually responding with something akin to "kiss my ass" or the more blatant "fuck off". He also frequently does things his way rather than as asked and might seem like a loose cannon. The same attitude applies to his relationship with his biological father; they mutually avoid each other and usually, Abaddon leaves the moment Archangel shows up somewhere and refuses to talk about him or his grandfather. One might say that Ryan's attitude towards his father is based on bitterness and longing for acceptance rather than actual anger, while he still evidently admires him to a degree. It is quite certain that Russell, his grandfather, is one of the few people who can actually scare him or enrage him beyond measure. Ryan admits he knows Russell enjoys pushing him over the edge and employs it as psychological torture. His most complex relationships regard women; Abaddon is very hard to win over and although sexually promiscuous (he is bisexual) and something of a shameless flirt, his heart remains a closed book. He admits he has manipulated the affection of women in the past, but finds it difficult to truly love. Many women (and certain men) have remarked that he's handsome and desirable and many have attempted to date him. Abaddon usually greets these advances with amusement and patience and has often admired and felt attracted to certain people, but rarely gives in. Interestingly, older, sexually aggressive women make him very uneasy, because of the sexual assault he suffered when he was 14; Deathwish (Gretna Wish) in particular, pursues him frequently and doggedly, to the point where Abaddon prefers to run from her than deal with her. In his recent life, Abaddon has found love in Feral (Ashley Caradyne), who initially rejected his advances after joining the team. They engaged in often and rather vicious sarcastic banter which brought them closer as friends and borderline on mutual flirting. Eventually, after Abaddon was nearly killed by XTNCS, Feral finally realized it was pointless to worry about a relationship with a superhero and deny her feelings, and kissed him, initiating their turbulent relationship. Though very fond of each other, openly showing their mutual affection and almost shameless, they often argue and fight (rather angrily) and have grown distant and re-connected several times. 'Allies' Uriel (Gabe Rivven) Feral (Ashley Caradyne) Samedi's Envoy (Demos Savoy) Troll (Troy Svetrowski) The Weatherman (Jibran Haytham) Razorspark (Jin Young) Belladona (Izzy Marinou) Glitch Dr. Evan Kelly Abby Strandford Nathan Scott Archangel (Michael Rivven) Smoke (Mark Caradyne) Gold Mask The Dante Society 'Powers and Abilities' 'Powers' Mutant Metabolism His metagene gives Abaddon a form of mutant metabolism, allowing him to control his blood. He can harness carbon from his respiratory system and bind it with the increased iron concentration in his blood, creating a steel-like alloy. : Blood Manipulation'Abaddon can control his blood both internally and externally, through any injury that draws blood. The degree of control is seemingly limited only to his imagination and willpower. Even unconscious, his blood remains active but wildly unpredictable, controlled by subconscious thoughts. Only when completely comatose does his control cease. As he grows older and his powers develop, he will become able to control the blood of others (as long as the structure and chemistry are similar to human blood) first after 'contaminating' it with his own and later still, completely at will. : '''Blood Armor'Once in contact with air, Abaddon’s blood can harden into a metal with similar properties to high performance steel, though it is lighter and dark colored. It can comfortably endure a lot of damage, such as the blows of superhuman foes without denting or breaking, even surviving a close-range grenade explosion. : '''Blood Armor Control Abaddon can liquefy and re-harden the armor at will, changing it in any way he likes, its appearance usually reflecting his mood. He can retain a minor degree of sensation through the armor, enabling him to use wires and tentacles to feel his way through an environment. He can create virtually anything he thinks of out of his armor, limited only by the amount necessary, or he'll bleed himself to death. Currently he can use up to 3 liters of blood before he starts to feel weak. Later in life he becomes able to steal blood from others and create much more expansive constructs. : Blood ‘Eyes’ A branching of his power that he uses rarely, Abaddon can create 'eyes' out of blood that have limited perception; they can only register crude differences in light and dark and detect motion without details. : Mutant Blood Ryan's blood has several unique properties. It has an unusually high content of iron and red blood cells, allowing for better transfer of oxygen. Although his ID lists his blood type as O-, Dr. Kelly has discovered that his blood does not actually fall under any specific blood type. Ryan can receive transfusions from and donate to any blood-type without any side-effects. Dr. Kelly has noted that when any blood comes in contact with his, it becomes 'contaminated' for a while and converts to Ryan's null blood type for a short amount of time, until it becomes assimilated to the more abundant type. Additionally, every time he liquefies and re-hardens his armor, the topmost layer of blood is discarded as flaky, dead blood. This dead blood has severely degenerated and does not contain any traceable DNA. Accelerated Blood Regeneration Due to the amounts of blood that Ryan loses through his power, his body has adapted and regenerates blood about three times as fast as normal. This hectic metabolism explains his voracious appetite and his penchant for sleeping a lot. Limited Mystical Affinity His power makes him an ideal ‘conduit’ for certain kinds of sorcery reliant on blood. His blood can also be used as a specialized weapon against beings vulnerable to sacred objects, since blessing him carries into his blood. He repeatedly faces down the spectral entity Bargest, who is vulnerable to blood spilled willingly.